11 minutes, 50 seconds
by wakeupboo
Summary: It was funny how much he relied on alien technology these days..." Ianto and Jack indulge in a little naked hide and seek while reflecting on their relationship and the others. Rated for swearing/sexual references. My first fanfic - I would adore comments


11 minutes, 50 seconds.

Evidently Jack was in a more patient mood than usual.

This struck Ianto as unusual, until he gained a little perspective. While Jack hiding for more than ten minutes during a game of naked hide and seek before he "gave himself up", was admittedly out of character, surely nothing would be more unusual to an outsider than his life in general.

Catching sight of himself across the room reflected in the glass doors, Ianto had to concede that while he might consider himself to be an exceedingly normal person most of the time, it was moments like these that made him want to break into hysterics of the positive and negative variety. The reflection showed that he stood stark naked, except for a wristwatch dark against his arm, the light sheen of sweat that betrayed the speed with which he had undressed, softened by the alien light of the hub. His reflection curled a lip up in a half smile. Obviously Jack had still found time to set the mood lighting.

Ianto had always considered himself to be an exceedingly ordinary person. He got up, he ate, fed his pet, went to work and indulged in a few recreational activities afterwards. These just happened to include feeding his Pterodactyl, catching aliens, shagging the boss and (apparently) extended naked hide and seek after hours.

While the soft hue of the hub cast alien shadows behind him, Ianto's figure still looked all the more ordinary to him. Solid and sturdy but not unattractive in his own opinion, the simple cut of his suit not only outlined but did justice to his figure and had managed to gain him the admiring glances of Captain Jack Harkness. Quite how admiring glances and remarks had led to this, whatever _this _was...Ianto still was unsure. Admittedly Jack was a human too, albeit one from the 51st century who couldn't die, but Ianto considered Jack to be anything but ordinary.

Which led him back to the current issue: where was Jack hiding? Unusually, counting had started in the cells, so he was not there and while Ianto, unlike Jack, kept to the strict rules of counting to forty, this did limit hiding places within the time limit. Ianto suspected that Jack himself had specifically imposed this rule to make sure the game did not go on for too long. So where was he?

Again Ianto mentally rang through a checklist, the cells, the autopsy bay, the boardroom, the interrogation room, the greenhouse (a personal favourite of Jack's as they both ended up sweaty earlier than usual) and the armoury.

Deciding to double check the office as he knew that Jack had a personal interest in there from experience, he crossed the main floor of the hub, disrupting the tranquil silence of the building with the quiet slap of his bare feet on the stone floor.

Even Ianto's anticipation of finding Jack could not prevent him from admiring the alien beauty of the hub as he padded across the space. It was at times like this, when the building was silent that it still felt charged with an electric energy, reflecting the relentless pace of everyday life for its employees. The hub itself was breathtaking without being conventionally beautiful, something Ianto thought was appropriate considering the liberal principles of their leader. Its design was somewhat chaotic, innately reflecting the many years of confused purpose and spontaneous recruitment that Torchwood had gained and suffered from. These contrasts were emphasised by the elegance of the 

uncompromising rift tower against the stark walls of white-washed brick. Tonight however, blue lights danced on the walls and played over Ianto's face, magnetically drawing his eyes to the majestic rift tower. Despite the chaotic organisation of the hub, the design still seemed to spiral out from this centre point which stood high above him, bathing the walls in a serene light. The very air felt static and charged with a magnetism that only increased with each slap of his foot as he moved closer to the tower, subconsciously coinciding with the towers desire to draw all matter in, as it channelled the overwhelming power of the rift.

Ianto considered this for a moment as he breathed in the scene before him, and was suddenly hit with the insight that strikes as profoundly and quickly as lightening. Magic. Whatever science Torchwood boasted, whatever understanding it claimed to seek and gain from aliens, Ianto Jones knew at the moment, that precise point in time and space that he was in the presence of a greater magic that he could not hope to understand, only appreciate. Unbeknown and unappreciated by him however, he knew this because he _was_ an ordinary human.

The moment passed however as it always did, leaving Ianto feeling charged with anticipation as he turned his attention to the other magic in his life. His eyes traced the curve of the tower when suddenly understanding hit him and his lips turned up in a half smile. Turning on his heel he moved towards the exit with a predatory ease.

Jack was cold. And not only that, but he was slightly cramped with the effort of maintaining his position. His hiding place, while brilliant placed him under immense pressure to remain in that exact spot. Metres from him, couples strolled hand in hand in the late twilight, seemingly oblivious to the semi naked man silhouetted before the waterfall of Roald Dahl Pass. Jack resisted the urge to pull his coat more tightly around him, as despite having complete faith in the quality of the perception filter, he thought the odds of people noticing him were significantly higher if he was not wearing anything. It was funny how much he relied on alien technology these days.

He wondered when Ianto would figure it out. He would be _furious_. Grinning at the thought, he pictured the warning of Ianto's mood written all over his face – brow slightly furrowed, jaw set, teeth clenched. Despite Ianto's controlled demeanour and conduct, Jack recognised the signs of someone who had once worn their heart on their sleeve, and perhaps, to an extent, still did. Ianto's vulnerability could be found in the soft curve of his face, the hollow of his cheek. Corrupting someone so innocent left him breathless at the thought of it. That wasn't to say that it was only the sex that had them playing these games, running around each other at work and holding each other so close after dark that they cried out in pain. At first it had been of course, and Jack had complied with Ianto's unspoken request for them to pretend that this meant nothing. Jack had seen dozens of people react in the same way to the stress of Torchwood, just looking for a meaningless outlet for their trauma, trauma that separated them from the outside world and made ordinary relationships impossible.

Well, almost impossible. Jack spared a thought for Gwen here, Gwen who battled on to keep an ordinary life with her boyfriend. Her affair with Owen had been a way of removing her emotions which had to switch between work and home constantly. For a brief time she had found relief in the excitement of the short-lived affair, but her marriage to Rhys showed her decision to commit to her 

ordinary life and love, over the destructive life of Torchwood. She was a remarkable woman and Jack respected her decision, knowing not many Torchwood employees (himself included) could go back and forth between lives. It was more common for them to give themselves over entirely to the job and indulge in meaningless sex rather than relationships. There was chemistry between them and they both felt it. But unlike with Ianto, Jack felt he could let go of Gwen. He wasn't entirely sure of her feelings, and suspected her marriage to Rhys had a lot to do with defying the life given to her as a Torchwood employee, of aliens, affairs and secrecy. But he was glad she had done it. One of them needed a normal life, and she brought that to Torchwood.

In the near distance, Jack watched as a young man stumbled out of a side street and cast an unstable shadow in the glare of the street lights. This was Owen. Not literally of course; he favoured bars further away from the Torchwood base, but this was the life he had chosen for himself outside of Torchwood. It mainly consisted of drink and sex, not relationships. Beneath Owen's facade of sarcasm, he was another intensely vulnerable character with a difficult past that only Jack knew about. His cynicism was a way of distancing and protecting himself from people, people who could love and leave him. If Owen was cruel it was because life had made him that way.

Instinctively Jack looked for a person to imitate Tosh and then mentally reprimanded himself. Tosh would not be out at this time, she would be in her flat, alone as usual, watching late night television, pretending that this was a one off. Jack had a soft spot for Tosh. It was ironic that the one person that he had most manipulated into joining Torchwood was the one who was the most outcast from normal life. Beautiful and brilliant, she would go to any length to save anyone of them but was always waiting for someone to save her. Sadly Owen was seemingly indifferent to her delicate approaches, although Jack suspected that this to do with Owen now shying away from relationships that could mean more than sex. Tosh had suffered, but more than anyone ever knew because she never showed signs of strain, blending perfectly into the team and the background. It was expected that she would be the genius whenever she was needed and despite her obvious talent and the group's subconscious respect for her, she was often underestimated. Jack had never made this mistake, although he had come close.

The most intriguing thing about Tosh to him, however was that she was not sexually attracted to him. That certainly set her apart, Jack thought with a wry smile. While many people would think he was arrogant, the truth was his arrogance was an accessory and a weapon. For example it told him that Tosh wanted love and meaning in her life other than her job, which relied on her to be clinically technical.

Eyes scanning the area for a familiar sight, Jack was suitably disappointed when Ianto still failed to materialise. Admittedly he couldn't very well look for Jack whilst wearing no clothes, but that was easily remedied, although Ianto disliked breaking rules, even of the naked hide and seek variety.

Jack shifted slightly, hoping he hadn't underestimated Ianto's finding capabilities. He would be organised, he thought fondly, with a mental tick list of places and places to double check.

Again he scrutinized the slowly dispersing crowd for a dark, solitary figure, hastily dressed, but in seeing no one he closed his eyes for a moment and allowed himself to picture one. Ianto walked with a newfound confidence, his steps still controlled but more defined somehow as though each one took him more solidly forwards, outlining his silhouette more firmly. He still ached with raw 

emotion which surrounded him like an aura, but Jack's gaze was now directed on the person at the centre of that, who Ianto had hidden for so long by, like Tosh, becoming part of the background.

Jack doubted he would ever stop feeling that rare sense of sadness and elation when he held Ianto but he had sworn to make every minute their relationship count. It was the emotion that kept him human.

"You cheated."

Ianto's welsh lilt was so sudden and so intimate in Jack's ear that he gasped. It was unusual for Jack to let his guard down, but Ianto was one of the only few who could manage it.

"Ianto," he growled, slightly irritated at being caught unaware which was coupled with his limited mobility, particularly now that Ianto was on the step behind him, "we never ruled out the vicinity of the hub so I didn't break any...

"_Naked_ hide and seek," said Ianto pointedly.

Jack turned his head in astonishment, as Ianto wrapped his arms around his waist to being dislodged from the paving stone. He was stark naked.

Jack was lost for words and his eyes drank in the sight of Ianto's body. He _loved_ it when Ianto was spontaneous.

Eagerly he turned for a kiss, exhilarated by the feel of Ianto's skin so close to his, separated only by his coat which he pulled around them both. He would soon remove the one item of clothing that they now shared between them.

Ianto it seemed, however had other ideas. Drawing back from Jack's embrace he repeated the accusation, albeit a little more tenderly.

"You forfeit the game."

"What?" Jack was only partially concentrating as he closed the distance between them again.

"You are wearing your coat sir. And note that you were able to get here directly from the hub. I had to be a little more careful."

"Ianto, you can't be serious." Jack was beginning to regret being so indulgent in Ianto's obsession with rules.

"So now you have to find me, and until then..." He left the threat unspoken.

"Can't we make an exception?" Jack asked throatily as he moved in again.

"The rules clearly state that when any item of clothing..."

"it's a coat!"

"Is used to cover up any part of the body..."

"Naked in this temperature?"

"It is in strict contravention of the rules..."

"Who has rules for naked hide and seek?"

"You wrote the rules," Ianto protested, "and shall be dealt with accordingly."

"So deal with me," Jack said huskily as he drew Ianto towards him, using the man's nakedness and lack of mobility to corner him. This time however, Ianto returned the kiss passionately, his hands caressing the length of Jack's back underneath his heavy coat.

"Besides," retorted Jack as they descended into the hub, "You're wearing a stopwatch."

"Ah," said Ianto, who couldn't resist taunting Jack with a raised eyebrow. "But there are lots of things you can do with a stopwatch."


End file.
